Photo Flash: First Look at THE BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY, Opening Tonight at WTF

Williamstown Theatre Festival Artistic Director Jenny Gersten announces the opening of the sixth production of the 2013 Main Stage season: The World Premiere musical, The Bridges of Madison County, opens tonight and plays on the Main Stage through August 18, following preview performances that began August 1. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the cast in action below!

The Broadway-bound musical is based on the best-selling novel by Robert James Waller that captivated millions of readers. The Bridges of Madison County is brought to life onstage in a passionate new musical production written by acclaimed playwright, screenwriter and novelist Marsha Norman (Pulitzer Prize for 'night, Mother), with music and lyrics by Tony Award-winner Jason Robert Brown (Parade, The Last Five Years). Norman's additional Broadway credits include book and lyrics for The Secret Garden, for which she won a Tony Award and the Drama Desk Award, as well as the libretto for the musical The Color Purple.

Directed by Tony Award-winner and Resident Director of Lincoln Center Theatre Bartlett Sher (South Pacific, Golden Boy, Awake and Sing!), The Bridges of Madison County captures the lyrical expanse of America's heartland along with the deep yearning entangled in the eternal question, "What if...?"

Francesca, a beautiful Italian woman, played in Williamstown by Elena Shaddow (LES MISERABLES, The Light in the Piazza) marries an American soldier to flee war-ravaged Italy. Her new life on an Iowa farm is uncomplicated until the day a National Geographic photographer, Robert Kincaid, played by Steven Pasquale ("Rescue Me," The Light in the Piazza) comes up her driveway looking for directions, forever changing the course of their lives. The Bridges of Madison County is slated to open on Broadway in February 2014.

The cast features Nick Bailey (Hit the Wall) as Michael, Whitney Bashor (The Fantasticks) as Marian/Chiara, Daniel Jenkins (Golden Boy, Big River) as Bud, Caitlin Kinnunen (Spring Awakening) as Carolyn, Michael X. Martin (Catch Me If You Can) as Charlie, and Cass Morgan (1776) as Marge. The Ensemble includes Jennifer Allen, John Paul Almon, Emma Duncan, Luke Marinkovich, Laura Shoop, and Tim Wright.

The creative team includes Michael Yeargan (Scenic Design), Donald Holder (Lighting Design), Catherine Zuber (Costume Design), Jon Weston(Sound Design), Deborah Hecht (Dialect Coach), and Thomas Murray (Music Director). Jennifer Rae Moore is the Production Stage Manager. The production is sponsored by James and Virginia Giddens.

As previously announced, the complete 2013 Williamstown Theatre Festival season runs from June 26 - August 18, 2013 and in addition to the highly anticipated World Premiere of The Bridges of Madison County, also includes The Debate Society's smash hit production of Blood Play on the Nikos Stage (August 7 - 18). The Red Sox musical Johnny Baseball by Richard Dresser (book), Robert Reale (music), and Willie Reale (lyrics), ends a sold out run on August 3 on the Nikos Stage. Additional highlights of the 59th season have included the critically acclaimed production of George Bernard Shaw's classic Pygmalion directed by Nicholas Martin, the madcap revival of the Marx Brothers' Animal Crackers, the revival of Tom Stoppard'sHapgood, and the World Premiere of Bess Wohl's American Hero. The season has seen the return of many Williamstown veterans including Kate Burton (in Hapgood), and Robert Sean Leonard (in Pygmalion), plus Tony Award-winning director Bartlett Sher, who makes his directing debut at the Festival.

Tickets to The Bridges of Madison County are $70 ($65 for preview performances). Tickets for all Williamstown Theatre Festival productions can be purchased online at wtfestival.org, by phone at 413-597-3400, or in person at the '62 Center for Theatre and Dance Box Office at 1000 Main St (Route 2), Williamstown, MA 02167.

Since 1955, the Williamstown Theatre Festival has brought America's finest actors, directors, designers, and playwrights to the Berkshires, engaging a loyal audience of both residents and summer visitors. Each WTF season is designed to present unique opportunities for artists and audience alike, revisiting classic plays with innovative productions, developing and nurturing bold new plays and musicals, and offering a rich array of accompanying cultural events including Free Theatre, Late-Night Cabarets, readings, workshops, and educational programs. While best known for our acclaimed productions, WTF is also home to one of the nation's top training and professional development programs for new generations of aspiring theatre artists and administrators. WTF was honored with the Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theatre in 2002 and the Commonwealth Award for Achievement in 2011.

Photo Credit: T. Charles Erickson

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